Because he was inventing everything. And he pushed hard, almost alone, for Bork, and was undermined by his own side...and not just Arlen Specter the Defector. Reagan did not have a GOP Congress. And lost the Senate in 1986. Reagan had no support system to develop, find, and push forward conservative constitutional jurisprudence. Today, we have the Federalist Society. Reagan didn't. But because of what he did, that is why we have a GOP Congress today, and a whole slew of conservative constitutionalist jurisprudential candidates.
As for Kennedy and O'Connor, see above about the feeder system. And betrayal. The RINO "moderates" LIED THROUGH THEIR TEETH about them...and swore up and down to Reagan they would be opposed to judicial activism.
Bush has been doing a tremendous friggin' balancing act ever since 9/11. He's fighting a war, trying to maintain a strong economy and in the meantime deal with other crises--long simmering ones like corporate jackals ignored by Clinton--Enron, for example...and immediate problems like Katrina.
To me, there are huge differences between Republicans and Democrats. I'll take the screwed up Republicans every time over a socialist marxist Democrat.